Hook of Holland to Amsterdam
solstice21
Posts: 321
I was looking at ways to spend my clubcard vouchers and thought up the idea of a weekend in Amsterdam in the summer, cycling from home to ferry/ ferry to Amsterdam and home. Just wondering if anyone has done Hook to Amsterdam before? ~50-60 mile ride according to maps. Is it an easy route to follow? Are road conditions ok?
Any advice welcome.
Any advice welcome.
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Did a tour in August starting in Hook of Holland, included Amsterdam. There are cycle routes everywhere. Most roads have an adjacent cycle path, these are excellent and if there you must use them by law (I think), you do need to be prepared for the whole range of users (vast majority on single speed "Dutch bikes") so speeds may at times be slower than you would want, but a lot of the time good speeds are attainable. Out of urban areas the dedicated paths disappear and the roads will be good, however some roads are explicitly not for bikes and motorists will give you a hard time if you use them (made this mistake once) but always there will be a suitable bike friendly path or road available.
Cyclist, pedestrian and (rare?) dog owner etiquette is excellent (the bike path is usually away from the footpath anyway), so the experience is nothing like the hassle of a British cycle route!
Where the paths cross roads (say at crossroads, roundabouts etc), often the bike has right of way, I was amazed that vehicles stopped, couldn't quite believe it, but if there are white triangles on the road or path, the person they point at has to give way.
There seems to be 3 systems of cycle routes, some of which took me a while to fathom out (but when I got the right map it was brilliant). As you are doing just the weekend, then the long distance routes are the ones to use. These are the L-F routes (landelijke fietsroutes) signposted like this:
From Hook of Holland you could take LF1 north to the outskirts of Haarlem then turn east on the LF20 to Amsterdam - its a fabulous coastal path mostly through the dunes, and if you are lucky and get the prevailing sw wind you should have a good tailwind (it could be tiresome doing it the other way if the wind is strong). You could return to Hook of Holland, maybe by following LF2 from Amsterdam to Schiedam / Rotterdam thern turn west on to LF12 for the last 10 or so miles back to the ferry alongside the waterway.
These routes really are good!
There is an interactive map of LF routes here
You can get maps and help at the tourist information shops vvv, often they are combined with the ANWB which is the equivalent of our RAC crossed with CTC (its for touring in cars and on bikes). Waving your AA or RAC card gets you free service in the ANWB branded shops (though I don't think their fussed). VVV is free anyway.
signed:
They are in most towns.
I got a large map for all the country showing the LF routes - good for route planning but not when off the LF routes, but you will probably be fine with this or even without a map if you keep it simple. Maps are about 8 euros, they aren't available on the ferry, unfortunately (plan A was thwarted!). The LF route signs are suffixed a or b to indicate which direction you are going (so LF1a, LF1b). For my tour i ended up buying 4 maps and then I could use myriad of minor routes available (see below) so I could explore more widely, but for you this shouldn't be necessary.
There are thousands of smaller routes with green numbered signs, these are apparently randomly numbered, but provide a great system (you just write down the numbers you want to ride and can create an almost infinite variety of day rides and all you need is your list of numbers). These are often coinciding with the LF routes but don't get distracted by those signs
Finally, Amsterdam has apparently a major bike theft problem - most bikes have poor locks there so I hoped a decent "Bristol-proof" lock would be okay, and it seemed to be, but just be aware that theft is an issue.0 -
I've often thought of doing this seeing as my mum lives only 10 miles from Harwich. That's a fantastic post Alfablue, cheers!0
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ThanksAPIII wrote:I've often thought of doing this seeing as my mum lives only 10 miles from Harwich. That's a fantastic post Alfablue, cheers!
I'm an enthusiast now, I'm going back next year, its great! It was good for my g/f because we wanted to do camping and touring but g/f can't manage heavy loads AND hills - its one or the other - the only hills here are the bridges over the canals! We stayed when possible in "nature camp sites" (was a bit worried that it was a nudist thing, but its not!). These are simple, cheap, and beautiful http://www.natuurkampeerterreinen.nl/en/who-we-are.html
The ferry trip is very pleasant, long enough to make the overnight sleep worthwhile. The cycle routes start right at the ferry terminal.0 -
Looks good. I've been trying to persuade the wife to have a go at a small bike tour with camping, so that might be worth a try.
Isn't it a fast crossing to Holland now? I'm sure we went across for a stag weekend a few years back and it seemed to take only 3 hours or so. However, there was drinking involved...
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APIII. 11 hour ferry time if I remember correctly. You probably drank the journey quick
Alfablue. V helpful. Many thanks!0 -
I think the night sailing departs at 23.45 and arrives 07.45 (but I presume that is +1hr). When I booked there were no bike spaces left on the online booking system so I called and the booking staff "negotiated" with the boat crew and got me two - that was a late booking in August though, so normally it should be straightforward.0
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When I've ridden to Amsterdam with Bike Tours we used the overnight crossing and left at something like 22:00 and arrived bright ane early the followiung morning for the 60 mile ride to Amsterdam. Might be worth getting hold of one of their brochures and seeing if the holiday is still available. IIRC they were based in an office above John's Bikes in Walcot Street.I've added a signature to prove it is still possible.0
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We did this trip a couple of summers ago with some friends - Had a great time.
We couldn't book accommodation in Amsterdam, so ended up in Zandvoort for a couple of nights, which is a pleasant seaside resort to the west. The train to Amsterdam for a night out is quick and leaves regularly... Well worth consideration...0 -
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Not any more - the 3hr seacat ferry service stopped about 2 years ago.APIII wrote:Isn't it a fast crossing to Holland now? I'm sure we went across for a stag weekend a few years back and it seemed to take only 3 hours or so. However, there was drinking involved...
The service has reverted back to a 6 or 7 hour crossing. The ferry now is a bit of a hybrid cargo/passneger ferry, and smaller than the old Stena ferry that was the pre-decessor of the seacat. I haven't been on it in a few years tho. (used to live there - Harwich that is, not Holland!)0 -
I heard that the Seacat caused a few problems by coming into Harwich too fast and bringing a small tidal wave in with it.I've added a signature to prove it is still possible.0
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Stena Brittanica is largest ferry in Europe (by length) and 9th by tonnage, the Stena Hollandica, the other ferry on the route is close behind.
I couldn't fathom the boat out - it is huge externally, but the passenger areas are smaller than some ferries I have been on, but I think it has a larger vehicle (large proportion of trucks) and cabin area.
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Was about 9 years ago when I went by ferry so can't remember that much about its size. I remember it had a little casino on there and the food was expensive, that's about it.
Reckon i'll go ahead and do this tho. I'll invite a couple of friends closer to mark but would be just as happy to go solo (might even invite some bike radarers!).
Alfablue - Great comprehensive comments. Where do they store bikes on ferry? Can you still get to them?0 -
I don't think the Stena Britannica has been used on that route since before the Seacat came and went?? (Still go to Harwich a lot as my parents are still there). I haven't been on the Hollandica. I used to work on the DFDS/Scandinavian Seaways ferries and they were fantastic passenger ferries.alfablue wrote:Stena Brittanica is largest ferry in Europe (by length) and 9th by tonnage, the Stena Hollandica, the other ferry on the route is close behind.
I couldn't fathom the boat out - it is huge externally, but the passenger areas are smaller than some ferries I have been on, but I think it has a larger vehicle (large proportion of trucks) and cabin area.0 -
No sorry, didn't see the pic at first, that is the one currently in service - I thought the old one pre-Seacat was the Brittanica. Can't remember what that one was called then!
Edited to say there are/were 2 Britannica's! The Britannica pre-Seacat one is now called the Stena Saga.0 -
SOLSTICE21 wrote:Reckon i'll go ahead and do this tho. I'll invite a couple of friends closer to mark but would be just as happy to go solo (might even invite some bike radarers!).
Yeah, forum outing! You know how much quicker you ride when there's an incentive? Amsterdam's a hell of an incentive 0 -
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Yeah, forum outing! You know how much quicker you ride when there's an incentive? Amsterdam's a hell of an incentive[/quote]
Amen to that! I was around 15 the first time I went to Amsterdam and could not believe my eyes....Horizons broadened to say the least.0 -
Hi
Can anyone advise me of how to tarvel by road bike from Hook of Holland to deventer in the east of the country and can it be done in a day
Cheers,
Rover 10 -
Just make sure you save enough juice to get back...0
